Dear ,What an incredibly busy two days of advocacy in Washington D.C.! V.O.I.D. was invited to attend the March 23, 2023, National Security,
Illicit Finance, and International Institutions Subcommittee Hearing titled: "Follow the Money: The Chinese Communist Party's Business Model Fueling the Fentanyl Crisis". The purpose of the meeting was to better understand the best possible methods to successfully combat, the illicit financing fueling the Fentanyl Crisis. We were able to hear the testimony of Special Agent U.S. Treasury (Retired) Jonathan Cassara; Donald Im, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Cyber Section DEA Special Operations; Celina B. Realuyo, Adjunct Professor, The George Washington
University; Jason Grellner, Vice President-Healthcare Evolv Technology and our dear friend and fierce Advocate, Gretchen Peters, Executive Director, Alliance To Counter Crime Online, "A.C.C.O." To say that we learned a lot is an understatement.
Jonathan Cassara, Jaime Puerta, Donald Im, Jason Grellner
Next, we were able to meet with DEA Administrator, Anne Milgram, Principal Deputy Administrator Louis J. Milione, and our dear friends Jon Delena, Sean Ferns and Joanna
Anderko, who understand that Education, Awareness and Prevention are key elements to saving our children's lives. We saw how the exhibit has grown exponentially. It's very somber and sad, but only fuels our quest in doing the best that we can as an Organization to continue with our mission at hand.
Louis J. Milione, Jaime Puerta, Anne Milgram, Jon Delena
This morning, we attended the Energy & Commerce Committee Hearing on the "HALT Fentanyl Act". This bill places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances
Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act.
Additionally, the bill establishes
a new, alternative registration process for Schedule I research that is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs or that is conducted under an investigative new drug exemption from the Food and Drug Administration. The Bill passed out of Committee and will now go to the Senate for further discussion.
And last, but not least, we were able to meet Congressman Mike Garcia, who represents California's 27th District. He graciously took a fair amount of time to meet us so we
could discuss policy and possible legislative efforts in the House, which could truly put a dent in this Fentanyl scourge. All in all, this was a very successful trip and because of your unwavering support, we continue giving presentations in Junior High and High Schools, as well as presenting at Parent Fentanyl Seminars across the nation.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
|
VOID was formed to bring to the public’s attention, through education, awareness and legislative advocacy, the immediate danger of sudden death associated with the use of illicit drugs, in particular FENTANYL, and other emerging
synthetic analogs. This will be accomplished through the creation of a network of private, state and national governmental organizations, working together, to provide knowledge, preventive tools, and proposed legislation necessary to reduce the number of deaths occurring through this ever-increasing scourge confronting our society. We will speak on behalf of our loved ones, who can no longer speak for themselves. |
|
